So, in celebration of getting myself a job, I went out tonight and treated myself to delicious sushi dinner at Ken's Sushi in downtown Nashville. So now I'm quite happily full of sushi and green tea. It's a nice feeling, though it would have been much more fun with a friend. Sitting at a sushi bar alone is somewhat, er, lonesome. I've tried several times to get Pixel to join me on one of my sushi adventures, but he has a serious "texture" issue with his food - it has to be just so or he finds it inedible. So, the next time any of you are in Nashville, look me up and we'll go have sushi together. Mmm, nori.

Oh, the job itself? IT work for a company that makes candies and other things. No, I cannot get you free bags of candy.

Anyways, onto the memeage. Ann Totusek tagged me for this meme, which consists of explaining six of my interests. So here goes.

Civil rights

I've always been interested (And horrified by) the way governments use and abuse their power over the populace, and watching the way public sentiment and opinion changes based on the changes the government makes is fascinating. And also horrifying.

Pyrotechnics

I remember the first year Chris invited me to do fireworks with him out at Jordan Creek Mall. I was hooked. He showed me the correct way to twist the wire around the launch tube frame, how to put the e-match in the quickmatch fuse, how to tape the thing together, everything. It's hot, sweaty, hard work - you brave insane temperatures, mosquitoes, and oh yeah, the fact that you're working with explosives - but seeing the results at the end of the night while the crowd goes "Ooooh...!" and applauds is worth it.

Leading worship

I have an admission to make. I like to sing. I sing all the time in my car to any song that's within my range. As someone who has problems with the way most churches "do" their weekend services, I like to think about ways in which worship can be led to be an inclusive community event, not just a guy on stage with a VOX amp and a mic. I also once sang for Celebrate Recovery, which was really fun, and something I'd like to do again. (Hence the reason I am trying to learn the guitar / violin.)

Blue LEDs

Traditionally, they were difficult to make, thought not at all anymore. And up until recently, you didn't see them all that often. Their novelty has largely worn off, but I still think they look really cool, especially on police cars.

Color mixing

Apparently, the only other three people who have this interest listed on their profiles aren't talking about the same color mixing I am - I'm talking about color mixing with light. All moving lights that can change colors use three pieces of dichroic glass (colored cyan, magenta and yellow) that move into and out of the light beam to change its color. It's pretty cool to watch, actually.

Libertarianism

It's in interesting political theory, and one which has definite things that I like, and some other ideas which I don't like. But a lot of their ideas tend to sync nicely with my own political views.

Exit, stage left. Sparks